“Sight for Sore Eyes” – Mark 10:46-42 – October 25, 2009

We live in a society that is becoming more and more automated. Whenever you try to get help you have to listen to a menu of options. Then you have to enter your account number and go through a process of selecting the correct options so you can connect with a real live person.

Not to long ago I called our cell phone provider to make a change in our service. After about ten minutes of entering numbers I could not find the right option. Finally I entered “0” and got a live person in customer service. A few minutes into our conversation she gave me an 800 number that I could call. At that point I became very determined. I said, “I have been entering numbers for the last 15 minutes and your system keeps me going in circles. All I want to do is make a simple change. I don’t want to listen to any more automated options. I realize my call is being monitored for quality control purposes but your system is not making this easy for me!” The woman then said, “What exactly do you need? I can help you.” I told her what I needed and finally it was taken care of. Sometimes it takes determination to achieve a goal.

In our story, Bartimaeus was determined to get help from Jesus. The first time he asked for help he was told to keep quiet by the crowd. He was a blind, beggar, an outcast in society and therefore not important. But, he cried out a second time, “Jesus, Son of David, have mercy on me?” Jesus heard his cry and asked them to bring Bartimaeus to him. Just like the woman at my cell phone company Jesus said, “What do you want me to do for you?” Then Bartimaeus said, “let me see again.”

Bartimaeus believed that Jesus could help him. He had faith in his power and grace to restore his sight. But believing wasn’t enough. Bartimaeus had to "do" something. He had to call out to Jesus and ask for his help. He had to lift up his voice above the crowd who tried to silence him. This took tremendous courage. By calling Jesus, Son of David, he made a statement that was not politically correct. To acknowledge Jesus as the messiah was offensive to the Jewish leaders and Roman Government. He was living in a society where outcasts had no rights and did not deserve any special attention. It is hard for us to comprehend how risky it was for him to call out for help.

Some would say this is a case where the “squeaky wheel got the grease.” Maybe so, but I believe that the courage and determination of Bartimaeus illustrates that to be people of faith means there are times when we have to be courageous and determined. How often to we give up when others don’t agree with us? How often do we quit because we encounter obstacles?

One time there was a little eight-year-old boy who went to his country schoolhouse early every morning to start the fire. The schoolhouse was heated by an old-fashioned, potbellied coal stove. One morning when the students arrived for school they found the schoolhouse engulfed in flames. They found the little boy unconscious, lying on the floor but dragged him to safety. He was revived but he had major burns over the lower half of his body. He was taken to a nearby hospital. The boy was awake enough to hear the doctor tell his mother that his legs needed to be amputated. The doctor also told his mother that he might not survive.

But the little boy had tremendous courage. He made up his mind that he would survive. Somehow, to the amazement of the doctor he did survive. Later, while still in the hospital he heard the doctor tell his mother that so much of his flesh had been burned he was doomed to be a cripple the rest of his life. Once more the little boy decided he would not be a cripple. He would walk although he had no motor ability from the waste down.

He was finally released from the hospital and his mother massaged his legs every day.. There was no feeling or control but he was determined that he would walk. One day his mother wheeled him outside in his wheel chair. Instead of sitting he threw himself from the chair and pulled himself across the grass to a white picket fence. With great effort, he raised himself up on the fence. Then stake by stake he began dragging himself along the fence. He did this every day for two years until he reached a point where he could walk. Because of his determination, hundreds of massages by his parents and his faith he overcame his disability and walked. Then he began to run. He ran to school each day until he graduated. When he enrolled in college he went out for the track team. Dr. Glenn Cunningham was on the US Olympic team in 1932 and 1936. He set a world record for the mile in the 1,500 meter race. He was known as the Kansas Flyer. (from Chicken Soup for the Soul, Living Your Dreams, by Burt Dubin)

When we face adversity we can remember Bartimaeus who was determined to see. We can also remember Glenn Cunningham, who overcame tragic circumstances and becoming an Olympic champion.
When we hear this story we immediately think of people we know who are ill and need healing. Lord knows, I have prayed my entire life to have perfect eyesight. However this story is not just about a man who whose sight was miraculously restored. This story is about a man who could see clearly.

What did he see? He saw a God who was merciful. In that culture those with disabilities were considered sinful. What kind of God do we see? Do we see a God who only gives to those who are deserving? Do we see a world where everything has to be fair? Do we believe God will reward us because we have been good and we follow all the rules?

What did Jesus see? Jesus saw Bartimaeus as a person in need of grace. This is a story that teaches that God cares for everyone, especially those who are at the bottom of the social scale. The crowd was spiritually blind since they tried to keep Bartimaeus from calling out to Jesus. Because of their discrimination they lived in the darkness.

There are voices who tell us we will never amount to anything. There are those who make judgments about who we. They impose their expectations or limitations on us because their vision of us is clouded. Perhaps they only see us on the surface or perhaps their perception of us is filtered by their own agenda.

David Hartman went blind at the age of eight. His dream to become a medical doctor was thwarted by Temple University Medical School, when he was told that no one without eyesight had ever competed medical school. He courageously faced the challenge of reading medical textbooks by having all of them audio-recorded. At twenty seven, David Hartman became the first blind student ever to complete medical school.

After he received his sight Bartimaeus followed Jesus with the rest of his disciples. He could have said, "Thank you" and returned to his life of begging for handouts. He could have spent the rest of his life telling the world of his miracle. Or, he could have disappeared into society and lived his life with his newly restored eyesight. Instead, Bartimaeus followed. His faith became an active faith as he joined the ranks of Jesus’ disciples.

More importantly, Bartimaeus was not only determined, he was enthusiastic. When he realized that Jesus was nearby he “threw off his coat and sprang to his feet.” At that point he then addressed Jesus as “teacher.” Why the change in names? For Bartimaeus Jesus taught forgiveness, compassion and acceptance. Jesus made him feel whole, clean and part of the kingdom of God.

We want folks to be more enthusiastic about their faith. We wonder why so many seem to be complacent when it comes to their faith. Perhaps they do not feel whole. Perhaps they feel like Bartimaeus who society wanted to keep silent and at a distance. Perhaps we too are not seeing clearly. Can Jesus really teach us anything? Perhaps we believe we have arrived. Or, perhaps we think that we have already followed and now we can retire from an active faith and let someone else act for us.

We don’t have to live in the dark. God is a forgiving God. God is still challenging us to “follow” no matter what we think our position is in society. By being enthusiastic and determined we can see again and our faith will be a beacon to others.

I believed Bartimaeus has learned a valuable lesson. He learned that God’s grace is not limited to a select few. He learned that believing and self-determination go hand in hand. Jesus affirmed this by saying, “Go, your faith has made you well.”

Dr. Keith Wagner, St. Paul’s United Church of Christ, Sidney, Ohio